Celta Vigo vs Barcelona Predictions and Betting Tips

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The Estadio Abanca Balaidos will be the centre of attention come Thursday night as Celta Vigo take on Barcelona. Celta will be keen on making it two home wins from two home games following their success against Valencia two weeks ago. Will they get the better of this Barca side under the tutelage of Ronald Koeman?

Barcelona, uncharacteristically, has a poor record away at Celta in recent seasons. The Catalans haven't won at Vigo in the last six visits with the last win dating back to 2015. In general, however, Messi and Co. have a better head-to-head record, winning 8 of the last 17 meetings. Celta Vigo, having won five of those games only reiterates the fact that they don't normally back down when they see the Garnets and Blues of the Catalans.

The Sky Blues' performance on home soil

Celta Vigo barely escaped relegation at the end of the 2019/20 season. This was mainly due to their poor record on home soil. They had the third-worst home record only ahead of Leganes and Mallorca who finished in 19th and 20th places respectively. Oscar Garcia and his troops, having won their first home game this season will be looking towards putting out similar performances.

They dropped points away at Real Valladolid last weekend with both teams settling for a point each. Iago Aspas ensured they headed into the break ahead with his third goal of the campaign. This lead was cancelled out on the 66th-minute mark as Guardiola equalized for the home side. Celta will welcome Barcelona looking to get back to winning ways. It is then left to see how well they will fare on Thursday.

Koeman's new system looking very good for the Catalans

Barcelona commenced the new campaign with a flawless victory at the Nou Camp, thrashing Villareal 4-0. The Barcelona faithful must have been very happy to see Leo Messi in amongst the goals following that month-long speculation of him leaving the club. However, it was Ansu Fati who stole the headlines with a majestic brace to guide his team to the three points. Koeman's double-pivot system worked impeccably at the Nou Camp as they recorded their first, of many, three points. The football world will be anxious to see what they can achieve this term with this new style. All in all, they are expected to challenge for the La Liga title this season.

Celta Vigo vs Barcelona team News

Celta Vigo possible starting XI:

Villar; Olaza, Murillo, Aidoo, Mallo; Beltran, Tapia; Suarez, Mor, Mendez; Aspas

Barcelona possible starting XI:

Neto; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; de Jong, Pjanic; Fati, Coutinho, Messi; Griezmann

Celta Vigo vs Barcelona Prediction: 1-2

FC Barcelona faces their first real test of the new campaign with this tough trip to the Abanca Balaidos. They will certainly be keen on making a statement following a poor end to the 2019/20 campaign. Celta, on the other hand, will be intent upon keeping their head afloat as they target the top-half this season. However, we expect the away side to narrowly nick this one to register their second win of the season.